Diffusing means



June 17, 19411. OQ 'H 2,246,008

DIFFUSING MEANS Filed March 15, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l M J Jk x}OOOOJJOOOOO INVENTOR A/Zm I Foam June 17, 194-1. A. T. ROOCH 2,246,003

DIFFUSING MEANS Filed March 15, 1939 2 Shee+.s $heet 2 4f INVENTOR41/672 7? Pouch NEY Patented June 17, 194i TENT ore-ice This inventionrelates to an improvement in air purifiers of the general type asdisclosed in my copending patent application Serial No. 147,701, filedJune 11, 1937.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier whichis adapted to be conveni'ently and readily disassembled for cleaning andservicing.

Another object of my invention is to provide an air purifier comprisingan inexpensive diffusion apparatus for volatile liquids which is highlyefiicient yet which may be economically renewed or replaced each timethe purifier apparatus is serviced.

Another object of the invention is to provide in an air purifier acombined bottle support and wick base cup which is readily removablefrom said purifier simultaneously with the removal of the volatileliquid bottle therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to provide a closure means for abottle containing volatile liquid having a bearing surface providedthereon which will support the entire weight of the fluid filled bottlewhereby auxiliary bottle holding brackets and arms, as now provided insuch purifi'ers; may be entirely dispensed with.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive yeteificient one-piece closure means which may be'removably fastened to anordinary bottle whereby such a bottle is adapted for'useas a dispensingbottle for use in so-called air purifier devices.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide in a one-piecebottle closure means a discharge orifice designed so as to minimize theeffect of surface tension on the fluid passing therethrough.

It has heretofore been thecustcm to supply a volatile fluid to airpurifiers from bottles of special design such as shown in my copendingapplication Serial No. 147,701, said bottles having long narrow neckswhich are sealed by means of special valves adapted to permit thevolatile fluid to bedischarged after a projecting valve-actuating finger has been depressed by contacting the bott oni of the container. Duetothe fragility of the bottle neck and valve assembly, it was necessaryto provide suitable independent support means such as support'arms ID insaid copending application, which engaged the body portion ofthe'bottles. 7

Due to the characteristics of the volatile fluids difiusedin'such'purifiers, a gum-like substance forms in the wick-base cup dueto the oxidation of the volatile' fluid therein; Likewise this 'gum-'"like substance i depositedin the wick whereby the rate of'd'iffu'sion'is decrease'd with the pass: ing of time. For the proper operation of anair purifier of the. diffuser type, the wick-baseficup should bethoroughly cleaned each time thepurimay be containedin said Wick-basecup. The' wicks by which the volatile fluid was difiused heretofore havebeen constructed from suitable woven material such aswool orthe like,and the life of such a wick was" necessarily, from an eco;-' nomicstandpoint, considerably longer than its period of maximumfefiiciency.

The present invention is directed to anair' purifier device in which theabove enumerated disadvantages are eliminated. The invention'in eludesacombination bottle support and fluid dis: pensing meansjwhich willefiectively eliminate the needjfor a"special type'o fnbottle or fluidc'on tainer an'd'which will'of itself support the entire Weight of abottle and its contents'whereby the need for independent" bottle supportmeans is entirely eliminated; means for detachably secur -f ing thewick-base cup to the discharge portioifloi the bottle whereby said wickbase cup isfwithe drawn with said bottle; and to' an improved andinexpensive wick which may be economically discarded whenever, its rateof diffusion becomes impaired. In addition thereto my device pg rj mitsthe use of any suitable so called standard bottle as a container for thevolatile fiuid to'be i s -W The abovementioneda'ndother objects maybeattained by the"means"describedherein'and dis-5 closed in theaccompanying drawings, in which: I Fig. 1 is a'plaview'of'aldevice'embodying the" invention, having part's thereof cutaway for clarityof detaill I Fig. 2 isa top planelevation of adetailofthe invention. 7 p v Fig.3 is a'side plan elevation of theinvention sown n s- 3 Fig. 4 is a verticalse'ctional' view on line 4"4 ofFig. 2..

Fig; 5 is aside elzgvationpfa cap member forming a detail iof'the'invention.

6 r new as. d v ie i dvine .th' 'f wick-base cup lifting means'comprisina detail of the invention, parts thereof being broken away for clarityof detail.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view on line '!---'i of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6, showing the relationship the variousparts comprising the invention assume when the bottle is liftedpreparatory to removal from the outer housing.

Fig. 9 is a side plan view of a wick, comprising a detail of theinvention.

Fig. 10 is a horizontal sectional view on line Ill-l of Fig. 9.

As shown in Fig. 1, the diffuser type air purifier units comprise anelongated annular housing l0 having a bottom portion H and a removabletop or cap member I2. A plurality of spaced apertures 13 are provided inthe lower portion of housing I!) whereby a suitable volatile liquid maybe diffused from a suitable annular wick M, the lower portion of whichfits into wick base cup like member l which normally contains a quantityof volatile fluid to a depth as indicated by broken line It. If desired,cup like member I5 may have a raised central portion or platform I'l.Depending legs H5 are provided on the bottom surface of cup 15 as shown.The walls of cup I5 should be fluid tight and platform I! of sufficientstrength to support the combined weight of an inverted bottle B plus theweight of fluid contained therein.

A formed cap like closure member 18 comprises an end l9 and aninteriorly threaded cylindrical side wall 29. Extending outwardly of endI9 and formed integrally therewith is a nipple like projection 2| havinga passageway 22 extending longitudinally therethrough whereby a nozzle Ais formed. If desired, a boss 23 may be provided circumscribing theinner end of said aperture as shown in Fig. 4, said boss functioning toproperly center a suitable washer or gasket 24 adapted to bear on theinner side of closure member l8 as shown.

As shown in Fig. 1, closure member [8 is adapted to be removablyfastened to the neck of a suitable bottle B by means of engagement withcomplementary threads disposed exterioriy of said bottle neck 25.Inverted bottle B and its fluid contents C are supported by the free endof nozzle A, which rests upon platform I! of cup 15.

A vertical segment D, Fig. 3, is removed from the free end of nozzle Awith the result that thefree end of nozzle A terminates in an offset orstep, 26 whereby the effective load bearing surface of said nozzle'isdefined by the transverse cross-sectional area of said projecting step26.

It should be noted that the vertical segment cut away or removed,extends into the vertical center line of passageway 22 so that theremoval of such a segment destroys that portion of the circumference ofpassageway 22 contained in the segment so removed. In this manner theeffective length of passageway 22 is reduced by an amount equal to theheight of the vertical segment removed from said nozzle. 7

By reason of projecting step 26 the effective length of passageway 22 isshortened whereby to terminate short of platform I1 by an amount equalto the height of vertical wall 21 so that fluid in passageway 22 may befree to be, discharged from the nozzle A whenever the height of theliquid cup. l5 falls below the fluid level line as denoted by brokenline 16.

A second important result is obtained by reason of the shortening of theeffective length of passageway 22, viz., the tendency for the formationof a meniscus at the end of passageway 22 is appreciably lessened byreason of the removal of a portion of the circumference of saidpassageway whereby the contractile surface force of liquid in passageway22, by which it normally tends to assume a spherical shape and form ameniscus, is noticeably lessened, whereby liquid passing down throughpassageway 22 is free to flow into cup l5. Horizontal wall 28 formed byremoval of segment D should be spaced from the plane of projecting step26 a distance sufficient to assure an ample passageway for fluid.

It should be understood that certain variable factors such as theviscosity of the fluid being dispensed, the composition of the closuremember, the diameter of the fluid discharge passageway 22 and theability of the fluid being dispensed to wet the material comprising theclosure member, all influence the degree and type of meniscus formed forany given set of factors. Therefore, the rate of discharge will likewisevary as these factors are varied.

Closure members I8 as herein described, may be fitted to any suitable,so called, standard bottles containing a volatile fluid. Such bottlesmay be sold equipped with a standard screw cap which may be replacedwith a closure member I8 when such a bottle is ready for use, or suchclosure members may be sold already fastened to bottles containingfluid, in which event a suitable nozzle cap 29 is provided to seal thecontents against leakage or evaporation. Such a nozzle cap may beinteriorly threaded as at 30 to engage suitable complementary threads 3|disposed exteriorly of nozzle member A. A suitable washer or gasket 32may be provided to seat against suitable annular shoulder 33 disposed atthe base of said nozzle.

In practice, a bottle B, having a closure member l8 secured thereto, isinverted and placed within container II as shown in Fig. 1. The level offluid within wick-base cup l5 being automatically maintained so long asany fluid re-' mains in bottle B by reason of the well known principleof hydrostatics.

Fig, 1 illustrates how my improved closure member may be adapted tocooperate with purifiers now in common use, in which wick I4 is of theso-called woven wool type. Bottle B may be positioned interiorly of saidannular wick whereby the upper portion of said wick may be in closeproximity to, or even in actual contact with the side walls of thebottle. When such is the case, diffusion takes place primarily from theouter surface of said wick.

The modifications shown in Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive, show an air purifierunit embodying not only my new closure member [8, but also aninexpensive disposable wick for permitting diffusion from both the innerand outer surfaces, and means for detachably securing the wick-base cupl5 to the discharge end of bottle B. This latter means comprises a splitring holder preferably of spring metal, adapted to be positioned aroundthe edges of elevated platform H. In this manner, split ring 40 isrigidly and frictionally secured to wickbase cup I5. Split ring 40 isprovided with a plurality of upwardly extending prongs 4|, the freeupper ends of which terminate in fingers 42, which are adapted tofrictionally engage bottle closure member I8, as clearly disclosed inFigs. 6 to 8 inclusive. When a bottle, including a closure member i8, ispositioned as shown in Fig. 6, wherein the end of step 26 contacts theupper surface of platform ll, prongs M are flexed momentarily outwardlyto accommodate closure member l8 after which the resiliency of theprongs returns the fingers back to a closure member engaging position.

It should be noted that neither prongs tl nor fingers 42, support,either directly or indirectly, inverted bottle B. Bottle B is supportedentirely by step of closure member i8 and by reason of the upper bodyportion of said bottle contacting the inner wall of container lid l2 asat is.

When bottle B is lifted upwardly of housing I l, preparatory to removaltherefrom, fingers 2 engage closure member I8, as clearly shown in Fig.8, whereby wick-base cup It is also lifted upwardly. Since split ring 46firmly grips the outer perimeter of platform I'l, wick-base cup 15including its fiuid contents and wick H4 may be easily withdrawn fromcontainer H each time bottle B is removed therefrom.

The connection between fingers t2 and said closure member may be severedby grasping cup i5 and lifting on bottle B whereby said prongs will beflexed to permit withdrawal of said closure member therefrom.

Wick i it may be then removed from wick-base cup [5 after whieh splitring ift may be detached from platform i7, oughly cleaned after whichthe split ring may be reassociated therewith.

If wick H 3 appears to be somewhat gummed up, said wick may be discardedand replaced by a new wick. The wick shown in Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive andshown in detail in Figs. 9 and 10, is fabricated from inexpensive, yethighly absorbent and easily disposable material such as cellucotton.Such a comprises a batting formed from a plurality of laminations ofsuitable absorbative cellucotton like material. If desired, such wicksmay be preformed as shown in Fig. 7 or such a wick may be fabricated bysecuring the opposite ends of a sheet of multi-ply cellucotton materialin a lapped relationship by any suitable means such as by means ofstaples 45, stitching or the like Such a wick, by reason of its ease ofmanufacture, low cost and highly absorbative qualities results in anideal diffuser means for volatile fiuids. The use of such a wick makesit possible to maintain the efficiency of air purifying units at amaximum by merely installing a new wick each time the unit is serviced,or as often as necessary. In some instances, one wick may givesatisfactory service for several months before replacement is desirable.

It should be noted that although cellucotton is highly soluble in waterand aqueous solutions, it is not soluble in oils nor in solutions havingan oil base. The volatile disinfecting or deodorizing fluids commonlyused in air purifiers contains an oilbase of either mineral or organicoils. Of these two types of oil bases, experiment has proven that theorganic base oils provide a superior base for volatile disinfecting ordeodorizing fluids, even though such organic oils have a tendency tooxidine more rapidly than the mineral oils. The hereinabove describeddisposable cellucotton wick is admirably adapted for diffusing volatilefluids having an organic oil base, by reason of its low cost, itsremarkable absorbative qualities and its ease of disposability, wherebyto provide an air purifier, the efficiency of which is unsurpassed.

By reason of the relative location of. wick M4, to the side walls ofcontainer ll, and its spacing Cup 85 may then be thorfrom'the outerwalls of bottle B (Figs. Sta .8 inclusive), diffusion of the volatileliquid in cup I5 occurs from both surfaces of said wick whereby theefficiency of the unit as a whole is materially increased.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that I have provided an air purifierdevice which may be easily and thoroughly serviced and cleaned, thewicks of which may be replaced at frequent intervals without appreciablyincreasing the cost of maintenance thereof. It should be understood thatif desired, fingers 42 may be formed so as to engage an annular bead 46disposed circumferentially of the bottle nozzle in lieu of engagementwith closure members l8 as shown. Likewise oth r modifications andchanges in the structural details of the device may be made, within thescope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the class described comprising a container havingapertured side walls, a base and a displaceable cap on the top of saidcontainer, cup like means in the bottom of said container and removabletherefrom for supporting an inverted bottle and retaining suitablediffusion means, means to retain a purifying liquid within said bottleincluding means for discharging said fluid therefrom, and a yieldableclutching means carried by said removable cup like means for engagingthe fluid discharge portion of said bottle whereby said cup like meansis detech-ably secured to said bottle, whereby the cup may be withdrawnfrom the container simultaneously with the withdrawal of the bottletherefrom.

2. A removable wick base holder and bottle support comprising a cuphaving upwardly extending edges, a circular elevated platform, saidplatform having in frictional engagement therewith a split ring prongholder having a plurality of upwardly extending prongs attached thereto,the free ends of each prong terminating in a. bottle neck engagingfinger.

3. An air purifier of the kinddescribed herein comprising an aperturedcontainer having a base portion and a hinged cap, a removable wick basecup adapted to rest upon the interior of the container base, said cuphaving upwardly extending outer edges, and an elevated platform uponits-upper surface, a split ring prong holder embracing said elevatedplatform and in frictional engagement therewith, said prong holderhaving a plurality of upwardly extending prongs the free ends of whichterminate in inturned yielding fingers, a wick disposed externally andcircumferentially of said prongs in spaced relationship thereto andextending into said cup, an inverted bottle containing fluid within saidcontainer and supported upon said elevated platform, said bottle havinga neck terminating in an apertured closure member adapted to supportsaid bottle upon said platform and to simultaneously permit a flow ofliquid from said bottle into said cupand wick, and means adjacent to thedischarge end of said bottle for engaging the yielding prong fingers anddetachably suspending said cup whereby said cup is removable from saidcon tainer simultaneously with the removal of the bottle therefrom.

4. An air purifier of the kind described herein comprising an aperturedcontainer having a base portion and a hinged cap, a removable wick basecup adapted to rest upon the interior of the container base, said cuphaving upwardly eX- tending outer edges, and an elevated platform uponits upper surface, and depending legs on its lower surface for spacingthe lower cup surface from said container base, a split ring prongholder embracing said elevated platform and in frictional engagementtherewith, said prong holder having a plurality of upwardly extendingprongs attached thereto, the free ends of which terminate in inturnedfingers, a wick disposed externally and circumferentially of said prongsand extending into said cup, an inverted bottle containing fluiddisposed within said container and supported upon said elevatedplatform, said bottle having a neck terminating in an apertured closuremember adapted to support said bottle upon said platform and tosimultaneously permit a flow of liquid from said bottle into said cupand wick, said wick being disposed intermediate said bottle and the sidewalls of said container whereby diffusion occurs from both the inner andouter surfaces of said wick, the fingers of said prongs being directedto engage a portion of said bottle for detachably securing said cup tosaid bottle whereby said cup is removable from said containersimultaneously with the removal of the bottle therefrom.

5. In an air purifier, a perforated housing, a fluid reservoir disposedin the bottom of said housing, said reservoir comprising a bottom andupstanding side wall, an open-ended, hollow annular wick disposed in anupstanding manner in said reservoir, a bottle of volatile liquid, aclosure member for said bottle, said closure mem ber comprising anupright projecting nozzle including an upright bore extending throughsaid nozzle, the outer end of said nozzle being cut away substantiallyalong the axis of the bore and also transversely at substantially rightangles to the bore intermediate the ends of the latter, for shorteningthe effective continuous length of said bore and providing a weightbearing portion beyond the end of the continuous portion of said bore,the free end of said nozzle resting upon the bottom of the reservoir forsupporting the bottle within said housing, said axial out and saidtransverse cut establishinga fluid outlet shaped to preclude theformation of a meniscus susceptible to congealing upon lowering of thefluid level in the reservoir.

6. In an air purifier comprising a perforated container, a wick base cupadapted to rest on the bottom thereof, a fluid dispensing bottlesupported on said cup, a coupling device for securing the wick base cupto the discharge portion of said bottle, said device comprising aplurality of upwardly extending prongs, the lower ends of which aresecured to said cup, the upper free ends of which terminate in inturned,bottle-engaging fingers, said cup being so mounted that it is free to bewithdrawn from or inserted into the container concurrently with thewithdrawal or insertion of said bottle.

7. A diffuser including in combination an inverted fluid supplycontainer and a well having a bottom to support the weight of saidcontainer, a fluid discharge port in the container and a cap for saidport, the cap consisting of a body attached to the container and a boredstem depending froin the body with the bore upright, the stem having afree end to rest upon the well bottom and support the weight of thecontainer, one side of the stem being cut away along the axis of thebore from the free end toward the cap body, and from a location on theaxis perpendicularly to the axis to preclude the formation of a meniscussusceptible to congealing upon lowering of the fluid level in the well.

8. A diffuser including in combination an inverted fluid supplycontainer and a well having a bottom to support the weight of saidcontainer, a fluid discharge port in the container and a cap for saidport, the cap consisting of a body attached to the container and aweight-supporting bored stem depending from the body with the boreupright, the stem having a free end portion to rest upon the well bottomand support the weight of the container, one side of the upright stembeing cut away lengthwise of and substantially along the axis of thebore from the free end portion toward a point on the stem near the capbody, and also from such point on the stem perpendicularly to the axis,thereby to remove a portion of one side of the stem, substantially tothe axis of the bore, for establishing a fluid outlet to preclude theformation of a meniscus susceptible to congealing upon lowering of thefluid level in the well.

9. A diffuser including in combination an inverted fluid supplycontainer and a well having a bottom to support the weight of thecontainer, a fluid discharge port in the container and a cap for saidport, the cap consisting of a body attached to the container and aweight-supporting bored stem depending from the body with the boreupright, the stem having a free end portion to rest upon the well bottomand support the weight of the container, one side of the lower end ofthe stem being cut away lengthwise, and crosswise substantially at rightangles to the lengthwise cut, to remove a portion of the stem whichsubstantially bisects the bore of the stem, thereby to establish a fluidoutlet shaped to preclude the formation of a meniscus susceptible tocongealing upon lowering of the fluid level in the well.

10. A difiuser including in combination a well and means for feeding avolatile oil-base liquid thereto, and a readily disposable tubular wickin the well consisting of a multi-ply sheet of oil-resistant and watersoluble material sufliciently thick to stand on end in the presence ofthe oilbase liquid, but to disintegrate in the flush water of a plumbingfixture.

11. A diffuser including in combination a well and means for feeding avolatile oil-base liquid thereto, and a readily disposable tubular wickin the well consisting of a multi-ply sheet of cellucotton suflicientlythick in its annular wall to stand on end unaided in the presence of theoilbase liquid in the well, but to disintegrate in the flush water of aplumbing fixture.

12. As a part of a slow diffuser for oil-base liquid, a readilydisposable tubular wick consisting of a multi-ply sheet of cellucottonsufiiciently thick in its annular wall and of an enlarged diameter suchthat the wick will stand on end unaided in the oil-base liquid of adiffuser, but to disintegrate in the flush water of a plumbing fixturefor disposal after usage.

ALLEN T. ROOCH.

